North Carolina $10 million lottery winner sentenced to life in prison for murder of young woman

A North Carolina man who won a $10 million lottery jackpot in 2017 has been found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Michael Todd Hill, 54, was convicted by a jury on Friday following the 2020 shooting death of Keonna Graham, 23, in a North Carolina hotel. The judge determined Hill's sentence will be life in prison without parole.

According to the prosecution, surveillance footage showed that at the time of her death, Hill was the only person in the hotel room with the victim. He was subsequently charged with Graham's murder in July 2020 after the cleaning staff at the Sure Stay Hotel in Shallotte, North Carolina, found the young woman's body. According to police, Graham had an "on and off" relationship with her killer.

Hill eventually confessed to shooting Graham after he found her texting other men while at the hotel, according to officials. The former nuclear plant employee made headlines in 2017 when he won a $10 million lottery prize from a scratch-off ticket.